The Watch
by CursedNocturne
Summary: 'Rome was unsure of how his grandson would react to the new addition, but he hoped he would protect the boy as though he were his own brother. After all, this boy was the son of a goddess, even if he may not remember it.' (Time Lord!Italy)
1. Prologue

Rome wasn't entirely sure where the woman had come from, nor how she had managed to enter his quarters undetected, bringing with her some unusual statue, the likeness of which he had not seen before. Normally, he would not have minded at all to be in the company of a woman in the middle of the night, but there was the question of how she had gotten past the guards stationed outside his door. They could have fallen asleep, of course, but he knew these men well, and they had never slacked on the job.

The woman was also garbed strangely, in robes of red and gold, and the way she held herself indicated a position of authority, or at least that she thought herself superior to him. He would have scoffed at that. Even the female nations were beneath himself. And yet, there was something else strange about her. She was not a citizen of his empire; he would have felt the faint connection to her which, if concentrated on enough, he could use to learn every detail of her life.

Then she spoke. "I request your assistance, human."

And then he understood. She must be a goddess! She had appeared only to him, and it must have been for a reason. Although, why a goddess would not know of his status as the personification of the Roman Empire itself, he did not know. Perhaps the gods and goddesses were above knowing of such things. Surely they had more important matters to think of than whether the people below them were truly human or not. He knelt before her, lowering his head. "What would you have me do?"

The goddess raised an eyebrow, though Rome did not know why. "Tell me, human. Are you in any position to raise a child at this current time?"

Rome blinked up at her. "I am raising my grandson currently- but he is awaiting my return back in Rome."

"A grandson, hm?" She pursed her lips. "I suppose that will have to do." She turned her back to Rome, facing the statue she had brought, which then opened as though it had a door. "Follow me," she said, stepping into the statue. Rome was slightly hesitant, but followed after her.

What he saw astounded him. "T-This place is…"

"Tell me if it is too much for you," the goddess said. "Some mortals go mad because it is too much for their minds to comprehend."

Rome took a breath to steady himself. "I'm alright," he said. He looked around the space he had entered. Clearly, the statue was there to disguise the interior, which was so much bigger than he would have thought. He had no idea what the devices that lined the edges and center of the room around a tall collumn were, but he did not dare touch them, lest it should anger the goddess and she would strike him down. "This is the making of the gods…" he breathed.

"Who are you?" a young voice asked. Rome turned to see a boy dressed in similar gold and red robes as the woman leaning against the wall. He was clearly not in a good condition, and looked very pale. What was most surprising, however, were small wisps of golden energy around his hands and face.

Rome opened his mouth to answer the boy, but the woman cut him off, speaking in an unfamiliar tongue, which was foreign, yet beautiful and rolled off of their tongues like water in a stream. Rome would not have been able to speak the language if he tried.

Soon, however, they resumed speaking in Latin, as the glowing around the boy began to increase. The woman stepped away, taking Rome's arm. "We need to keep back."

Rome tore his gaze from the boy to the woman in confusion. "Why? What's happening?"

"He's dying," the woman said shortly, causing Rome's eyes to widen. He was about to say something, anything, to see if he could help, but the boy then seemed to explode in the golden light, causing Rome to shield his eyes.

When he lowered his arm, the boy he had seen was gone, with a much younger child in his place, also wearing the red-gold robes, although his were much too big for his body. "Ve… I think it worked! Oh!" The boy seemed surprised as he spoke, although he quickly grinned, much to Rome's dismay. "Hear that, Mama? I've got a new voice! I sound like a girl!" Then the boy's expression changed, becoming worried. "I'm not a girl now, am I? Ve… I don't want to be a girl!"

"No, my little one," the goddess said, kneeling next to the child. "You are still a boy, I assure you. Although, you do seem to have a verbal tic now."

"Really? That's weird. I should probably do something about it."

"If you remember to, of course."

Rome watched the two of them, completely unsure of what he had just been witness to. "W-What just happened?! Where did the boy go?!"

The new child pouted slightly, turning to Rome. "I'm right here! Didn't you see me regenerate?! I tried my best to make my new form look like you! You're supposed to take care of me now, right?"

And then Rome saw it- The golden eyes, the brown hair, the small curl off the side of his head. The boy resembled Rome himself now. He looked just a bit younger than Rome's own grandson. "I… I suppose so…" said Rome, already having resigned himself to doing what the goddess would have him do.

The goddess herself, however, was frowning as she looked more closely at Rome. "A change of plans, I'm afraid, my son," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I do not think this man is a mortal as I had previously assumed."

"How could you tell?" Rome asked, unable to help himself, at the same time the boy began asking questions. "Ve? Then what is he? A multiform? A Slitheen?"

"I do not know what he is…" the woman said slowly. "But I can see his timeline, and it is… unusually long for a mere human's." She glared at Rome. "What are you, then? Do you pose any sort of threat?"

"I give you my word, I do not," he said. "I am the embodiment of the Roman Empire itself, and your humble servant, goddess."

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, and the little boy giggled, saying something to his mother in that same unfamiliar language. The two spoke for a short while, the boy seeming to be insisting on something, with the woman finally resigning and giving in to whatever he was asking. "Roman Empire, I am going to need a sample of your DNA for this to work."

Rome frowned, unfamiliar with the term. "My… what?"

"Your deoxyribonucleic acid," she said, as if he would understand that term any better. When Rome just stared at her blankly, she sighed, grabbed his hand, and pricked his finger on a device near the center of the room. He winced, but she let go of his hand as something square shaped lit up, with circular patterns filling it. The woman examined it, then turned to her son. "I think it will work."

The boy grinned. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"What will work?" Rome asked, confused. "I am sorry if my asking so many questions angers you, goddess, but I would like some answers."

The goddess did not answer, but pressed something close to the column, causing another device to lower from the ceiling. "This will hurt, my little one," she said, sounding slightly worried.

The boy shrugged. "Ve, it can't be any worse than part of a building falling on top of me."

Rome's eyes widened. "Wait, you're going to hurt him?! Whatever for?! What are you doing?!"

The boy was the one to answer. "I need my DNA to match your as closely as possible. I'm not going to remember any of this, but I'm going to think I'm really your grandson, so you have to take care of me, okay?" His golden eyes were so side and innocent, Rome found himself nodding, even though he still didn't completely understand. "As you wish."

The woman turned on him. "Swear it. I don't want to be handing my son off to just anyone."

"I swear," he said solemnly. "I promise, I won't allow any harm to come to him." This seemed to satisfy the goddess, who helped her son into a seat and snapped something round into the device that had come from the ceiling, before fitting it onto his head. They shared one more brief language in the unfamiliar yet beautiful language, before the woman kissed her son on the top of his head and stepped away, pressing something else on a device near the wall.

The boy began screaming, and Rome covered his ears so he would have to hear his anguished cries.

It seemed like forever until the screams finally died down, and the boy fell unconscious. After removing the round object from it, the woman pressed something else to cause the device over his head to return to the ceiling. Without looking at either Rome or her son, she sighed. "He's your responsibility now."

"But… What am I supposed to do?" Rome questioned. "I am willing to assist you, but I want an explanation!"

The woman sighed, then turned to Rome. "I am trying to keep my son safe from a war- one that has already claimed the lives of hundreds upon hundreds of our kind. I am not asking you to understand, I am asking you if you will keep him safe." She held up the round object. "And protect this with your life. Everything that makes up who he really is is inside this watch."

Rome took the "watch" from her, nodding. "If that is what you wish… but for how long?"

"Until I can return for him, when the war is over."

That was a suitable enough answer for Rome, who nodded. "Then I shall keep him safe until then." He walked over to where the small boy slept, surprised that he truly did feel the same connection to him now that he did to Romano, and picked him up. He could not hide the smile that appeared on his face when the boy snuggled into his chest. He was unsure of how Romano would react to his new brother- he realized that whatever lands his grandson would inherit in the future would now have to be shared with the boy now in his arms- but he hoped he would also protect the boy as his own brother. After all, this boy was the son of a goddess, even if he would not be able to remember it. As long as he was around, he would treat him as such.

* * *

**This is a plot bunny that just would not go away. I know I really could have done better with this, but I was just writing as the words came to me, not really thinking. It's a crossover for Doctor Who and Hetalia, where Italia Veneziano is really a Time Lord- /shot**

**I realize that the concept is probably pretty idiotic- so sue me. I just wanted to do this. Originally, I had planned for this prologue to go very differently. It would have been on a field where a battle has previously taken place, and Italy's previous regeneration was caught in the crossfire. However, I couldn't find a believable excuse for why the field was already empty, why they would have been there, and so on, so I changed it to this. I am definitely a lot happier now with what I currently have.**

**I won't tell much more about his life with Rome. I don't know enough Roman history for that, honestly, and I want the story to focus more on modern times. By the time the actual story starts, Paint it White has already happened, and the Time War is over- although, Doctor Who fans know what that entails. I am not sure whether I'll have the Doctor himself make an appearance, however. I want to focus more on Italy and Romano. There will be an alien threat (most likely Daleks or some made up beings), and some pairings, although they aren't the main focus of the story. If you aren't a fan of Spamano or Gerita, I'm sorry- but if you're like me and like all pairings, you should be okay.**

**As for my previous fics… Well, whatever ideas I had for them are long since gone. If anybody wants them, they can have them. I do have new ideas, but I seriously need to be poked in order to continue writing…**

**Anyway, I'm pretty sure I made it obvious, but just in case I didn't, the woman is not really a goddess- That is just Rome's justification for her. She is, in fact, a Time Lady, if you couldn't infer that. I wasn't sure what her TARDIS should take the form of inside Rome's room, so I opted for a statue. I also did not give her a name on purpose, as I do not intend for her to return to the story. I wasn't completely happy with her character, anyway, but I needed to have her.**

**I will eventually replace this with an edited version of the chapter, but for now, please feel free to leave any sort of constructive criticism. **


	2. Chapter 1

_Fire._

_Everything was on fire._

_It was a bit ironic, considering how he used to think that the forests he and his friends played in and around looked like they were on fire in the morning, when the silver leaves of the trees reflected the twin suns shining down from the brilliant orange sky, and they ran across the red grass chasing after flutterwings and trunkikes. _

_Those days were long gone now._

_The skies were dark with ash and shadow, as the enemy fleets surrounded the planet, blocking out the sun. The only light came from the enemy themselves, their ships, and the flaming ruins of buildings, which had once stood tall and proud._

_Now, he hid where he thought he would not be found. He could hear the screams of others and the cries of 'EXTERMINATE' as shots were fired, knowing that every time, someone would fall never to rise again. He'd heard of these creatures before, and he knew they were an enemy to his kind but… He'd never imagined they were so terrifying!_

_Cowering where he was, he did not notice the horrible creaking of the building he was near, nor did he see the rubble as it fell towards him, until his whole world filled with pain-_

Feliciano gasped, sitting upright in bed and clutching at his chest, before realizing it had all just been a dream. A very vivid dream, but just a dream nonetheless.

This wasn't the first time he'd had such a dream, however. He got them even when he was just a child, living with his grandfather. However, when he had gone to live with Austria, they began to come less and less frequently, until they stopped altogether. He'd thought they were gone for good, but now they'd come back. He wasn't sure why the dreams had come back, but they had begun again shortly after the Pictonian invasion.

Now that Feliciano thought about it, though, it did make sense. The dreams depicted an alien invasion as well. Maybe experiencing one first-hand had brought back the dreams. Sure, maybe the one in his dreams was much more violent than the Pictonians' had been, but that could easily have been a product of his fears. After all, Ludwig had told him that's what nightmares were a long time ago.

Speaking of the German, Feliciano smiled when he saw how peacefully he was sleeping. Since the Pictonian invasion, he'd been staying at Ludwig's place more frequently, hoping it would keep the nightmares away. At least, that had been his excuse, but even though they still came, he wasn't going to tell Ludwig that. The blond was already uncomfortable as it was to let the Italian sleep with him.

He wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, he knew that. Quietly, so he wouldn't wake the other, Feliciano slipped out of the bed and walked to his own room (he was glad Ludwig had kept it even after the Second World War). Inside his room, he kept several art supplies specially for what he was about to do. Taking a blank canvas and some paint, he began work on recreating the scene from his dream. If he closed his eyes, he could still see it- the red-robed figures running from their enemies, the fire reaching up to the black skies, metal and rubble everywhere…

He shivered involuntarily, but continued work on the painting. He wished this dream hadn't been one of the more violent ones. He would much rather it had been one of the ones with the children playing, or even the strict yet beautiful woman that kept appearing in his dreams. He had plenty of paintings of those, but the images of fire and war outnumbered them.

He was glad it was just a dream. He hated to think of all those people- all those children- being killed so horribly. It wasn't too different from other wars, he supposed, but at the same time… something seemed different. Maybe it was because he had these dreams through the eyes of a child. Surely that made it more horrifying.

"Italien?"

Feliciano jumped a little at the voice, causing his brush to slip and leave a streak of red paint across the image. He quickly recovered the brush, turning to see Ludwig standing in the doorway, who already looked like he was about to leave. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you."

Feliciano shook his head, smiling a little. "No, it's fine. You just scared me a little, that's all. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nein, you didn't," the German said, shaking his head. He looked over at the painting. "I've been wondering what you've been doing, waking up before me these days. Is this what you've been up to?"

"Guilty," Feliciano giggled. "Ve, I'm going to have to wait for the paint to dry before continuing this one, though. I'll need to paint over that streak."

Ludwig, who had been examining the painting, looked back at Feliciano in surprise. "This one?"

Feliciano nodded. "Si. I have more than just this one." He looked back at the unfinished painting. "It's what I saw in my dream last night…"

"In your dream?" Ludwig frowned, looking back at the painting. "I thought you said you weren't getting nightmares anymore."

_Oops._ Feliciano quickly looked away, thinking quickly. "Ve… W-Well, I don't get them as often… I get other dreams, too, that aren't quite as bad."

Ludwig, however, didn't look convinced. "Italy…"

"I've told you, you don't have to call me that anymore," said Feliciano quickly, trying to change the subject. "You can use my human name. I already use yours, Luddy."

Ludwig blushed a little at the nickname and mumbled something that Feliciano couldn't quite catch, though he thought he heard him use the word "embarrassing" somewhere in there. Ignoring this, Feliciano grabbed onto Ludwig's arm, grinning. "Come on, just say my name once. Per favore, Ludwig?"

Ludwig tried to push Feliciano off his arm, but Feliciano was hanging on tightly. "Italy, please, let go of me-"

"Not until you say my name~" Feliciano sang, shaking his head. "You only have to say it once! It's not that hard, you know."

"F-Feliciano…" He mumbled, still trying to get said Italian off his arm.

Giggling once more, Feliciano finally let go and took a couple steps back. "Was that really so hard~?

Ludwig sighed in exasperation. "Italy…" Feliciano pouted at the use of his nation name once more, but didn't push the issue. "If you're still having nightmares, you could have told me."

Ah. So he wasn't going to let it go, was he? "Ludwig, really. You don't have to worry. They're just dreams, after all. They don't mean anything. Besides, they're not all bad. See?" As he spoke he walked over to the wall where one of his paintings of a silver treed forest was leaning against it, picking it up to show the German.

Ludwig frowned, examining the painting. "…Is that a koala with six legs?"

"It's called a flubble," said Feliciano, seeing the creature in question clinging to one of the trees. "Some people keep them as pets."

"A… flubble…?" Ludwig sighed, running a hand down his face and shaking his head slowly and mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like "Why do I even bother?"

Feliciano chuckled. "Really, Ludwig. It's fine, okay?" Setting the painting down, he skipped over to the door. "I'm going to go make breakfast since you're up, okay~?"

"Ja, that's fine," said Ludwig, who was still looking at Feliciano's paintings. "I'll be down soon."

Smiling over his shoulder, Feliciano left the room. Now that Ludwig knew he was still having nightmares, he was probably going to make Feliciano leave soon, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. He was at least glad to have shown his paintings to Germany. Art was meant to be shared, after all, especially with one's friends.

Satisfied, he headed for the kitchen to work on the breakfast he had promised his friend.

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long to write! To be honest, I was stuck trying to decide whether Feliciano should have been at his own house with his brother, or at Ludwig's house, or even if he should be home alone. As you can probably see, I went with him being at Germany's house. I got some great ideas for the fanfiction that would only work if that were the case.**

**I want to do a chapter with Romano next, but I can't quite think of many ideas that would actually work. At the very least, I know what his involvement with everything will be, and he'll play a pretty important role in the story.**

**There were a couple things I wasn't sure of with Feliciano's characterization, however- the "ve's" and the scene where he grabbed onto Ludwig's arm. I decided to reduce how often he said "ve" to just whenever he's anxious or unsure- and maybe he'll say it on its own when he's scared or nervous. However, I won't make him say it every other sentence. **

**As for the scene where he grabs onto Germany's arm… well, I nearly deleted that whole scene because I thought I might have been pushing it too far. I threw it in there for my own benefit, actually, since I've RPed for so long as 2P!Italy, I've kinda lost sight of regular Italy (not to mention, the 2P is going soft)… I needed to do something to **_**completely**_** separate them in my mind, and this is what happened… Since this is still an unedited chapter, I may still go back and change it. Please tell me if you think I should.**

**I guess some people would argue that, since this is fanfiction and this is my story, it doesn't matter how accurate I get his personality, but at the same time, Italy is not my character, and I want to stay as true to him as possible. That's also why I did some research on Gallifrey, and some of the animals they have there (really, it couldn't have been all Time Lords there, you know). I would have loved to see some more images of Gallifrey outside of the cities where the Time Lords lived. It always sounds so beautiful.**

**I've also decided that yes, I will be adding the Doctor into the story much later. I know how I want him to get involved in the story, and I have a few scenes in mind, too. He'll be pre-DotD, at the very least- maybe even from as early as Pond Life. We'll have to see.**

**I'm not sure how long it will take me to write the next chapter, so I'll try to find more methods of motivation. **

**I'm glad the prologue seemed to go over well and got a good response. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the review someone left saying that they originally thought it would not be a good story, but it turned out okay. I guess most people would be insulted, but I'm grateful to have gotten a review like that. It seriously lets me know how I'm doing, even if only in a small way.**

**Remember to leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter too! I always appreciate it~**


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